Armed conflicts constitute main obstacles to sustainable development. They create enormous human suffering and make pathways out of poverty more difficult. By 2030, OECD estimates that over 60% of the world’s poor will be living in countries affected by conflict and fragility. Total disbursement to conflict prevention, peace and security was SEK 733 million in 2016. 58% of all Sida support had peace and security as principal or significant objective.

This is the first annual report produced by the newly established Communicable Diseases Cluster (CDS) of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa.

The overwhelming majority of deaths in the WHO African Region are caused by HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis (TB). Along with neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), these infections are diminishing Africans’ quality of life as individuals and thwarting entire countries’ ability to develop vibrant and productive communities, stronger economies and safer societies.

ProCap aims to strengthen the collaborative response of protection agencies and non-protection mandated organisations. To do this, it deploys senior personnel with proven protection expertise at field, regional and global operations and trains mid-level protection staff from standby partners and humanitarian organisations. The Project objectives and activities are guided by the 2014-2016 ProCap Strategy.

The Regional Director is pleased to present this report on the work of WHO in the African Region for the period October 2015 to June 2016. The report outlines the significant achievements made under the six categories in the 12th General Programme of Work in supporting Member States in the African Region in health development. It reflects contributions from WHO country offices and the Regional Office, including the three Intercountry Support Teams.

Last year broke records, but for all the wrong reasons. More people were forcibly displaced than at any time since the Second World War. Huge numbers needed humanitarian assistance to meet their most basic needs. Our budget, as a result, was the largest yet.

This needs assessment was conducted by People in Need (PIN) and Rebuild Hope for Africa (RHA) in October 2016, in order to identify needs on the Punia-Kasese axe – which is typically considered “inaccessible” due to the extremely poor condition of the road. The assessment was also prepared to clarify feasible intervention modalities, in order to inform project design. This initial findings document precedes the full assessment report, and its purpose is to share key data with OCHA and partners rapidly in order to support humanitarian planning.

A severe drought, associated with the El Niño phenomena, resulted in a humanitarian emergency in which an estimated 40 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. Vulnerability assessments and analysis indicated that 23 million required immediate humanitarian assistance, as of June 2016.

In response to this, the Southern African Development Community launched a regional humanitarian appeal for $2.4 billion to support the needs of the affected population in the affected Member States.

• Many countries across the African continent face recurrent complex emergencies, frequent food insecurity, cyclical drought, and sudden-onset disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and storms. In FY 2016, as in previous years, USAID/OFDA not only responded to urgent needs resulting from disasters, but also supported DRR programs that built resilience and improved emergency preparedness, mitigation, and response capacity at local, national, and regional levels.